Coffee Prince will probably be my 2nd favorite KDrama.
Probably, because I've been watching Bridal Mask/Gaksital and I'm pretty sure that is going to be my favorite.
Someone else has got to be watching it, right? If you like historical dramas (well, recent historical, it takes place during Japanese occupation of Korea), badass action, love triangles, and tons suspenseful moments... this drama is for you!
Gakshital sucks.
It has no real sense of direction. The characterization of the protagonist is poorly constructed. He goes from being a psycho villain to this good guy that we pretty much are told to like.
I did like that it did make a bold move in having the second Gakshital murder his brother's killer with his bare hands, but that was the high point of everything that I have seen in the series so far.
Now History of the Salaryman was getting somewhere. It's too bad that the whole production held back a great idea to keep it in the usual comfort zone of "one misunderstood character is not a villain and he must be paired with an attractive woman".
That being said, the strength of the series was its dialogue. The dialogue was well written and it allowed the characters to express themselves more. That and the great casting on Yu Bang and Baek Yeo-chi made some very impressive characters.
Chairman Jin was a very solid character and he was static, but I like that. A well written series must handle well the characters that it chooses to be dynamic.
This leads me to another drama which I call my favorite: Pasta.
Pasta is one of those series which just has very interesting characters bouncing their personalities off each other. The whole series was written very well and anyone can see it by checking the restraint on certain aspects of the story and how accentuated other aspects are. The supporting cast had great dialogue that allows the characters to all interact well with each other, but the supporting characters do not have convoluted background stories tacked onto them. The main characters have distinct personalities and have subtle interactions which slowly change them and most important, their attitudes toward each other. The series has a natural flow.
I suppose that I'll go for some other comments as they come to mind.
Man from the Equator has a solid idea, but once again is held back by the production. The writing lingers too much on possible melodrama. Most of the series is just people staring at each other with bulging eyes that make them all look constipated. There's a difference between fear and constipation. There are too many missed chances, and the core idea just slips from the fingers of the writers.
Believe in Love has a more solid story within one of the sub-stories. The detailed analysis of Korean Dramas within that story almost made me shiver. It was far more interesting than the melodrama from the main story. The main girl changed more sides than a ping pong ball.
